The Old and the New Way Into the Sanctuary

“This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not wit the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth.” 1 John 5:6-7. Water cleanses the body outwardly, and blood purifies the body inwardly. The blood Jesus came with was the blood of the covenant. “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Hebrews 13:20-21.

The covenant was this: “Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God.” Hebrews 10:7. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me . . . .” John 6:38. In order to keep this covenant, Jesus had to be sacrificed. By this sacrifice—“Not my will, but thine”—the blood was shed. This was the blood of the covenant. In the power of this blood the God of peace could raise Jesus from the dead. He came not only with water—forgiveness of sins—but with death to sin. That was the new covenant.

We read about how the high priest, in the first covenant, was to enter the sanctuary: “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering which is for the people, and bring its blood within the veil, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it upon the mercy seat and before the mercy seat; thus he shall make atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel, and because of their transgressions, all their sins; and so he shall do for the tent of meting, which abides with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.” Leviticus 16:15-16.

This was the old way into the sanctuary. And in Hebrews 9:13-14, we read, “For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” Bulls and goats had never had victory over sin, so their blood had no real power. But God prescribed these sacrifices so that the Jews would receive the forgiveness of sins. This blood “sanctifies for the purification of the flesh.”

The new way went through Jesus’ own flesh, where sin was put to death as He offered Himself up in the power of an eternal Spirit. The blood that flowed as a result of this sacrifice has power to purify our consciences from dead works to serve the living God. The first way into the sanctuary did not allow for any growth or development. The same sacrifices, which can never take away sins, were offered repeatedly. Hebrews 10:11. These are “dead works.” Hebrews 9:14.

No one but the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies; and even he could not enter without blood. None of those who received the forgiveness of sins entered in. “By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary is not yet opened as long as the outer tent is still sanding.” Hebrews 9:8.

Now we read bout the new way: “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way which he opened for us through the curtain, that is, his flesh . . . .” Hebrews 10:19.

As long as the veil was intact, the way was not open. We read in Matthew 27:50-52: “And Jesus cried again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks were split; the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.” We read in John 19:30, “When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, ‘It is finished’; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

The covenant had been kept; it had stood the test—the new and living way into the sanctuary was consecrated. A human body of the seed of David could now be raised up as the temple of the Holy Spirit. The zeal that Jesus showed in accomplishing this was vividly portrayed when He made a whip of cords and cleansed the temple from all the commercialism that went on there. When we read about it in context in John 2:13-22, we see that this has to do with the temple of the body.

We read that the new and living way through the veil into the sanctuary was consecrated for us. Jesus was our forerunner on this way, and the term forerunner here would have no meaning for us unless there wee also those who run after. Hebrews 6:19-20. What goal did He have in running this race? It was to put to death sin in the flesh, which had hindered the body from doing God’s will, and to assume the entire fullness of the Godhead bodily. Colossians 1:18-20; 2:2-3 and 9:10. This is what Paul also pursued when he said, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14.

Jesus had a true follower in Paul. And verse 10 of the same chapter tells us just how Paul followed Jesus through the veil, which was His flesh: “. . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” Thus he, too, came to the blood of Jesus and had the boldness to enter the sanctuary.

Most people reckon that by the blood of Jesus we have forgiveness of sins as well as the boldness to enter into the sanctuary. However, none of those in the old covenant who received forgiveness of sins entered the sanctuary. There is no way to go if they enter in merely by virtue of Jesus’ death on Calvary. The entire religious world has been deceived by such commonly used expressions. “He has done everything; we shall do nothing”; “He won salvation for us on the cross, and now we are perfect in Him”; “God sees us through the blood of Jesus as though we had never sinned”; and other such expressions that lead people astray. Those who preach such things say nothing about following Jesus, nothing about having fellowship with Him in His sufferings and nothing about carrying about His death in our bodies. Thus their listeners have not heard the gospel.

It is written that the blood of Jesus speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel; and we have come to the blood of Jesus, and to the mediator of a new covenant. Hebrews 12:24. Jesus’ blood does not cry out for revenge, the way the blood of the martyrs does. Revelation 6:9-11. That is why Jesus teaches us that if we do not forgive our debtors, our heavenly Father will not forgive us our trespasses. Matthew 6:12; 14-15.